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Ill try to make this short,
Our photocopier company came in to review and offer us a better deal, they did and we signed the deal as it suited us.
A few weeks later the sales rep said we were on target to go over our print allocation so he needed to adjust the numbers, he did and we resigned (at this point i did not see any cost changes).
A few more weeks and he called in again with the same proposal to adjust the numbers, we did, and resigned.
Then a bill came through for 3x what we initially signed up for, i took a look at the contracts and each time he had increased the cost per copy to double the amount.
We opened a complaint as i think he purposely didnt fill in the new cost until we had signed.

He phoned and said we could scale the print amounts back down no problem, several weeks go by of trying to get them in to scale down, and finally they say we cant, we have to pay the same amount and they will rebate us a little if we print less, if we want it on a contract they will triple the cost of our prints.
I know its a long shot but do yo think misrepresentation is an option here?

It is worth remembering that word of mouth is normally considered part of a contract too.

How much do you pay if you make no copies?

Is it worth stopping use of the copiers and taking on other ones to use instead?

Also, they say they monitor the volumes remotely. I assume the printers are networked, can you adjust this so that they cannot see the printers? I assume you had to allow them to access them from outside, this should be reversible? Would be interesting to see how they reacted to that.

Last edited by Enterprise 1701C; 19-05-2017 at 8:01 AM.

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare

We are contracted to a certain volume at a per copy rate, we initially signd up for 30k mono and 5k colour, they said we were going to go over so adjusted it to 40k mono and 10k colour but doubled the cost per copy so we are stuck on that, and now they wont move it down, but to be honest i think they lied as i checked the volumes and we are around the 10k mono and 5k colour.
Yes when we added them to our network we installed a bit of software to let the machines report prints and toner requirements.
When he said we need to sign for the volume change there was nothing on there about double the cost or any new per quarter charge so i think he got the signature and filled the rest in later.
but i dont know where we stand if we pull the direct debit as the lease company will be straight onto us.

The contract is for a minimum amount so we get hit with the bill no matter what, we only get extra charges if we go over the allocated amount of copies per quarter.
When we got the bill for the double amount we immediately opened a dispute with the lease company, thats when the copier compay said not to worry they would lower the volume amounts for us and get the DD back down, so we closed the complaint, now they refuse to lower the amount and DD.
Our bills come direct from the lease company no the copier people

Sorry, didn't realise it was a set amount. Thought it was per copy. I am coming at this from totally outside the industry, just looking at it from a fairness pov.

I would say to the lease company that you had been deceived into closing the complaint and you want to reopen it. They have obviously seen how massively the amounts have gone up, and I am surprised they got away with increasing the amount per copy so massively, I would have thought the amount should stay stable or even go down when the quantity was increased, although we have never actually leased a photocopier that way. With amount like that it might have actually been worth considering outright purchase.

If you are getting nowhere with the photocopier people, the lease people will be the obvious next stop.

I would request, no, insist, that the rep and his manager attend your office to discuss this, as you intend to raise a formal complaint and possibly take legal action.
It's a lot easier for the company to deny any fraud over the phone than to do it face to face with you.
I'd also get a complaint down in writing, as phone conversations leave no audit trail. If that fails, you need legal advice.
I am still not clear if there is a minimum volume clause; if not, just stop using it. They'll soon come and get it back, as it will otherwise be a dead asset to them.

Thanks for the advice people, i think once we go down the route of fully complaining i just wanted to be sure we have a solid case, its been total deception at every turn.
when i asked why they had doubled the costs within a few months they just said "it is what it is"
I have contacted the faircontracts.co.uk to see what they think, and possibly get a bit of legal advice first before we go head on at them.
I am almost 100% the financial increase figures were not on the sheet but cannot say "i looked and the box was empty" if you know what i mean.

Well i put it in here because its essentially a loan/lease that we have been scammed into, and how to get out of it, i think they edited the documents after they were signed but proving it would be an issue.
Also maybe the mis-selling of a contract, verbal agreements being broken, doubling the cost etc, didnt know where else it fit in lol

Really reminds me of this scam! Contracts that people could not get out off as their signature forged....basically adding things such as figures and signatures to contacts after they had been signed. Same company bnp pairibas!

You could try to contact the manufacturer of the device to inform them what their dealer is doing - assuming they are a main dealer

Linkedin is a good place to bash them

If i have read correctly - your on a minimum billing of x amount of copiers a month - you will always be billed the minimum regardless of how low you usage is? of course if you go over you get billed more, probably at a higher rate.

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